As Vitor Pereira raucously celebrated a quite stunning Nottingham Forest victory, his Tottenham counterpart Roberto De Zerbi must have been tempted to put his foot through the television.
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo might not have been too far behind either.
They would surely have been watching events unfold from afar in a match which had huge ramifications for the relegation picture and their teams’ survival hopes.
After Forest clinically dismantled Sunderland during a remarkable first half which saw them establish a 4-0 lead – and surge eight points above Spurs – De Zerbi in particular was given much to think about.
Can his 18th-placed Tottenham side, who have not won since December, defy the odds and beat the drop? You would have your doubts. Big doubts in fact.
They face already-relegated Wolves at Molineux on Saturday afternoon knowing that nothing less than three points will do.
Nottingham Forest ran riot as they thrashed Sunderland 5-0 to move eight clear of the drop zone
Elliot Anderson completed the rout in stoppage time on what could be a vital night for Forest
Are Forest, now unbeaten in eight in all competitions and with 39 points in the bag, all but safe?
Certainly the way Pereira’s resurgent side reduced Sunderland to so much rubble made them look anything but relegation dwellers.
It appears increasingly likely that the scrap to avoid joining Wolves and Burnley in the Championship will be solely between Spurs and West Ham, who lie just two points above De Zerbi’s men in 17th.
Like Leeds a place above them, Forest are finding form just when it matters most in a season which has seen so much happen at the City Ground.
Nuno, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche have all spent time in the Forest hot-seat before Pereira pitched up on the Trent in February.
The 57-year-old Portuguese exudes an air of calm authority and he is getting a tune out of all Forest’s main protagonists at a crucial period of the season.
Take Gibbs-White, Forest’s master craftsman who followed his hat-trick display in last week’s 4-1 home of Burnley with another hugely influential display and goal here.
Elliot Anderson fancied this one too, pulling the strings from the heart of midfield on his return to his native north-east.
Another Newcastle old boy, fit-again Chris Wood, similarly stuck the knife into the Mackems with a superbly-taken goal.
This, though, was a victory for the collective. Forest have leaders and drive all over the park and Pereira has fashioned them into a force to be reckoned with.
For Sunderland this was the stuff of nightmares, especially in a week when boss Regis Le Bris was forced to fend off speculation that he could be sacked if he fails to deliver European qualification this season.
Vitor Pereira’s side were ruthless and clinical as they gave their survival hopes a huge boost
What was most impressive here was how Forest delivered in such ruthless fashion.
Igor Jesus pressured Sunderland defender Trai Hume to head Omari Hutchinson’s cross into his own net and from there the hosts capitulated.
Wood added a second in the 31st minute after a mistake from Robin Roefs allowed Gibbs-White to tee up the New Zealand striker for a neat finish.
It was 3-0 when Jesus’ deft header was fired home by Gibbs-White, who has now scored 13 Premier League goals this season and 10 of them have come in 2026.
After Sunderland failed to deal with another cross into the box, Jesus was on hand to rifle home before Anderson twisted the knife with a right at the death.
